Annnnnd The Winner Of The 2012 Presidential Campaign Is...Barack Obama

Annnnnd The Winner Of The 2012 Presidential Campaign Is...Barack Obama

After months of campaigning (and more than one million presidential ads — 40% more than we saw in 2008, in case you were wondering), we have an answer. With 274 electoral votes to Mitt Romney's 203 — thanks to a clinching victory in Ohio — President Obama has been re-elected to a second term.

We know how crushing it can be to see the candidate you supported — someone you really and truly believed in — end up on the losing side of a long and exhausting fight. But, life goes on — and while the thrill of victory and agony of defeat are perhaps most pronounced here in the nation's capital, neither will last forever.

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In the meantime, here's our wish list for the next four years: That political discourse will become more respectful — we never want to witness another debate where it seems the candidates will come to blows. That all citizens will be treated equally, and afforded the same rights across the board. That the issues that directly affect women — equal pay and reproductive rights, for starters — will be the subject of rational, informed conversations, not crazed rants by ill-informed partisan pundits. That female leaders will continue to gain ground and make an impact on our political process.

Tell us how you're feeling: What's on your wish list for the next four years?

And if you hit the hay before the prez delivered his acceptance speech, you can watch it here:

Photo: Courtesy of Barack Obama Flickr. Video: Courtesy of The New York Times